The Most Memorable Runners-Up From 'The Bachelor' And 'The Bachelorette'

Where are they now?

Sep 20, 2017 7:55am

By Jessica Chandra

For all the happiness the couple at the end of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette experiences, there are many broken hearts along the way. And thanks to TV editing and loveable contestants, viewers have been more distraught about the fact the runner-up had their heart broken, especially with the more recent seasons.

Take a look at what life has been like for some of the most memorable runners-up from the Australian franchise.

Who: Rochelle Emanuel-SmithSeason:The Bachelor Season 1 with Tim RobardsWhere is she now? Rochelle kept a low profile for a few years after ‘losing’ on the show. She was splitting her time between Australia and London, working as an executive assistant while also doing promo modelling. One year after her finale aired she opened up to news.com.au about how difficult the whole experience was, as the girl who was broken up with on national television.

Who: Ali OetjenSeason:The Bachelor Season 1 with Tim RobardsWhere is she now? Ali was the girl on Tim’s season who really put her heart on the line. She wore it on her sleeve and had it crushed in the penultimate episode. (She also hurt her leg during one of the group dates while trying to impress Tim.) Now, Ali is obsessed with health and fitness, and works in radio in South Australia. She also got engaged to a man named Dave Waldeck, but he’s been absent from her Instagram for a while now.

Who: Lisa HydeSeason:The Bachelor Season 2 with Blake GarveyWhere is she now? Lisa managed to avoid most of the drama after that controversial The Bachelor ending, when Blake broke up with Sam Frost (after proposing to her in the finale) to take up with Louise Pillidge, the show’s second runner-up. Lisa sided with Sam, but it appears the two don’t hang out together anymore. For a few years, Lisa was dating travel blogger/model/presenter Tyson Mayr, but the two broke up in 2016. She hasn’t been linked to anyone since, and is focusing on her fashion line.

Who: Louise PillidgeSeason:The Bachelor Season 2 with Blake GarveyWhere is she now? Louise moved to Perth to be with Blake Garvey after they entered into a relationship in the most controversial way. They were together for 18 months before calling it quits (they even did a breakup photo shoot). Louise has moved back to the Gold Coast, where she is originally from, and is focusing on her lifestyle brand.

Who: Heather MaltmanSeason:The Bachelor Season 3 with Sam WoodWhere is she now? After The Bachelor, crowd favourite Heather started dating fellow actor Andrew Steele, but they parted ways after nine months together. Last year, Heather opened up about her miscarriage on Studio 10, saying her partner at the time wasn’t able to buy the morning after pill from the chemist because he was male. She also works in radio.

Who: Michael TurnbullSeason:The Bachelorette Season 1 with Sam FrostWhere is he now? Michael hasn’t had the greatest run, post-Bachelorette. Just a few months after the finale of The Bachelorette aired, Michael revealed he had fallen for Katrina Vincent, a single mother from Brisbane, after flirting on Instagram—they even did a photo shoot for Woman’s Day together with Katrina’s daughter. Two weeks later Katrina revealed on Instagram that Michael had dumped her because he didn’t want to be with someone who had a child.

After that, Michael came under fire for allegedly being involved in a pyramid scheme, but even Sam Frost came to his defence, saying she didn’t believe he would do it “intentionally” and was probably “conned,” if it was true.

Who: Nikki GoganSeason:The Bachelor Season 4 with Richie StrahanWhere is she now? There was an outpouring of support for Nikki immediately after the result of her season aired, and her fans banded together to start a #NikkiForBachelorette2017 campaign (the role ultimately went to Sophie Monk). Since then, she’s kept a pretty low profile in Perth, where she’s still living and working as a real estate agent. She doesn’t appear to be dating anyone.

Who: Matty JSeason:The Bachelor Season 2 with Georgia LoveWhere is he now? Pretty much the moment Matty J was rejected by Georgia Love, people were saying he should be the next Bachelor—and that’s exactly what happened! Matty’s season aired in 2017, and he dated his way through 22 women to eventually fall in love with Laura Byrne, a jewellery designer from NSW.

Who: Elise StacySeason:The Bachelor Season 5 with Matty JWhere is she now? Elise was ‘Matty J-ed’ by the man himself. Halfway through the season, she seemingly came out of nowhere to become frontrunner, making it all the way to the top two. Unfortunately, Matty told Elise that he had fallen in love with someone else. In post-finale interviews, Elise said she couldn’t even entertain the thought of being the Bachelorette. However, the ex-Hockeyroo recently moved from Perth to Sydney, where she’s focusing on her career in marketing.